Apparatus for liquefying gas and separating its elements.



. y -PATBN'TED MAR. zo, 1906.` ,A v- I G.LINDB. 'y A; APPARATUS POR LIQUEFYING GAS AND sEPARATING/ITS ELEMENTS..

APPLICATION FILED Noirlk 7, Igozl 2 SHE-ETS-SHBBT 1,

fcoils ofy larger pipe, forming counter-current is to furnish liquid air to makeup deficiencies in the distilling process, which will now be described.

The casing 1 is divided by apartition into two chambers A and B, the upper chamber A being preferably largerv than the -`lower chamber Bl y and 11 represent air-compressors for forcing air through coils 1 1 and 12, located in cooling-baths 13 and 14, respectively. From the coils the airpasses intodistributers 15 and 16, which distribute it through a seriesof independent horizontal @ons vinosed within apparatus 17 and" 18, which comprises aseries of independent horizontal coils,-y each pipe coiling insid'eits first' turn, and so on, forming an inner contracted insulated chamber,

' the coils growing colder as they approach the inner ends of the pipes', as willbe hereinafter understood, owing to their near'approach to the source of coldand their insulation from the outside. `The inner ends of these air-supply' pipes communicatewith accumulators 19 and 20,`and the former is connected byl a pipe 21 with a chamber 22 at the top of -my 1mroved distiller or rectifier 23,` which in the orm lshown in Fig. v1 isa column or high cylv inder with a large number .offintermediate bo'ttoms 24, of erforated sheet metal. It is traversed byaVA arge number of vertical tubes- 22a," that communicatefat their upper ends with chamber'22 vand at their lower ends with a similar chamber 2 5. Thelower pan or section of the rectifier is connected by al pipe 26 with an open vessel 27 for conveying the liquid rich in oxygen thereto, and inthis vessel the va orization of this rich loxygen takes place, ue to heat supplied tothe liquid by'a coil 28 in the vessel supplied with compressed air by accumulator 20, previously cooled in the counter-current apparatus v18. The air is liquefied by its passage through coil 28 and passes'up through pipe 29, having a valve 30 therein, and makes Juncture with-a` pipe 31 fromlower chamber 25, also havinga valve 32 therein, and the liquid air in pipes 29 and 31 flows through a common pipe 33 and empties into the top pan ofthe rectifier. A short valved pipe 34 connects the chamber 4 with this pipe 33 to supply such liquid air thereto as may be necessar to make upfor vany loss of cold in the disti ling a paratu's, Ias before Y explained. The pans of t 1e distiller are connected by short pipes 35, extendingfrom the liquid-level in an upper pan to a point below the liquid-level of the next below, and so on to the bottom pan, so that yeach upper pan will overflow into the next lower, and so on to the bottom, thus making up for the losses of liqluid by evaporation.

I ave thus rovided counter-current apparatus 17 an 18, which guarantees the most perfect insulation possible. They consist of a number of coils laid side by side, each coil wound in one lane of pipessurrounded by similar channe s. The channel convolutions of each coil are insulated trom each other. Each run of coils protects the next one inside, -whose temperature is only moderately lower, against taking up heat from the "outside, and theinnermost coldest winding protects the distilling or rectifying apparatus, whose temperature is about 190 centigrade. In order to obtain a perfect fractioning, the principle of rectification is applied, allowing the vapors richer in oxygen to pass through the poorer liquid. Corresponding to the partial pressures the in this casel give up oxygen tothe liquid an take up nitrogeninstead; but we must and do provide something' further-namely, an arrangement which renders it possible to furnish' heat to the boiling liquid by the condensation of compressed; air

. ows: The pans of.

previously cooled in the apparatus.

vThe operation is as `fol the distiller or rectifier andof the oxygen-i 1 evaporating vessel 27 are filled with liquida` Theair compressed by compressors 110 a'nd 11'is brought in the coolers 12 and 13tothe coolin -water temperatures and then goesy into t e coils of the counter-current apr:

paratus 17 and 18. It is cooled ofi therein by the products of evaporation ofthe boiling liquid and fiows into the accumulators 19 and 20. 'From 1-9 it goes into the upper chamber 22 and condenses in vertical tubes'22, while bringing an equal mass of liquid in the pans to evaporation. -The products of condensation collect belowin chamber 25' and are carried up pipe 31through valve 32 into pipe 33 and empty into the upper pan. The compressed air in accumulator 20 passes through coil 28, is condensed therein, evaporating a corresponding quantity of liquid, and flows up pipe 29, through valve 30 and pipe 33, into the top pan. 'The liquid carried to this upper pan has the composition of the atmosphere, (twenty-one per cent. oxygen and seventy-nine per cent. nitrogen.) The evaporation products, however, contain at first essentially the more volatile constituent-the nitrogen-so that the liquid becomes richer in oxygen. From the first to the second pan, therefore, there flows over a liquid that contains already considerably morethan twentyone per cent. of oxygen.' The enrichment progresses from pan to pan, and the content in oxygen can be driven as high as desired in the lowest-pan. While the content of oxygen increases Jfrom above downward, at the same time the partial pressure of the oxygen increases, and consequently the oxygen content of the vapor developed. In order now to win back the oxygen vapors developed in IOC IIS

f ent,they give, corresponding tothedimine l lshing partial pressure of the oxygen, a part of the same to the liquid and abandon the column at the/top with a very small oxygen content. Therefore only a small part of the .ox gen contained in the 'compressed air goes `oy with the nitrogen-Qi. the voutput- 'I of gasrich in oxygen is improved-and this is 4 one advantagegderived from the present in- IO vention.r The remainderjof the liquid rich in' oxygen flows from the ylowest panof the rectiication-column to the Oxy en-e'vaporator *l below and is there completeyevaporated,

(vaporized.) All the products of evapora-` tion take their course rthrough the channels t of the counter-current yapparatus 17 Vand 18 and exchange their temperature with air. cir- `culating inthe coils, so that they abandon the separatingy apparatus with atemperature only a littlebelow that of the coolin -water.

'For 4'covering the lossesof cold 'there 1s fed to the distilling apparatus through the pipe 34 Vz's.

l n ythe liquid airproduced-above'. vThe liquid 'boilingin the upper part a .somewhat lower temperature than lthe liquidin theA oxygen-evaporator'on account of the higher oxygen contentof the latter. Thefair that is, to

. This is thev reason why two compressors 10 Acondense inthe coil must ,therefore,bejbrought to asornewhatl higher pressure than the airv v,to befliqueied in then; tubes of the column.

vand 11 are used.y By choice o'conditionsof the masses of air furnished Iby the two compressors andthe exchange and condensation surfaces, we. have it in hand to varythe oxygen `content of the gasl producedl within wide units.' .Fig. .1 shows a very special form of. appai ratus.' Itis clearthat the counter-current 31? tothe tube ,33a onto thebeads at the top with' beads. `Thisiform' is shown in l'whic thereare ap lied the 'largest'possible surfaces. ,y VThe pro luct-of condensatlon produced here andin the oxygen-evaporator 27'A l"below it is conducted through ltubes 29a and' and tricklesslowly downward through them.

` pors `-developed in the auppervessel have a'l The liquidin the vesselbelow the beads has carries from` here the liquid rich in oxygen' i down into the .oxygm'eevaporator.` The vasponds" to t `the distillingech'amber havin lthe products of evaporation t erefrom, pipes:

t means considerable oxygen content, as they' arise 65 `l'rom .the liquid rich in oxygen. While vthe vapors are rising through the beads they come into' contact with liquid less rich in oxygen, and therefore exchange the'greater partk hey abandon the column with ape proximfaely1 theoxygen content that corre-` e partialpressure ofthe oxygen| i inthe liquid fed'in at the top. 'f

Variouschanges may be resortedtointhej 5,a a l relative arrangement of parts shown and deg v f scribed without departing-from thespiritand scope of my invention. ence I wouldy have it understood that I do not wish to confine"y shown and described; but,

lmyself to .the exact construction of parts 8o y Having fully described my invention, what y I` claim as new, and' desire to secure -by Let- 'ters Patent, is*

1. .In an apparatus for liquefyingzgas and 85 f separating its' constituentv parts,' the combii `nation with a distilling-chamber, of avessel into which the less-volatile liquefied gas from the vdistilling-chamberiiows, a counter-cur-v4 j rent." apparatus surrounding said vessel and 9o havin an outlet for the products of evapora-- `tion`o the distilledv liquid in' saidvessel, a

similar r`counter current apparatus around the distilling-chamber havin an outlet for the products of evaporation t ererom, pipes 9 5 for conveying compressed gasvrom the `counter-current apparatusV through the liquid in the vdistilling-chamber and vessel to boil the same and condense or liquefy the as, and means for'conveyin said'li uefie` 5 pipes into thedistilling-c amber.` n

n an apparatus for liquefying gas andv f k'separating'.its constituent parts, the combi nation with a, distilling-chamber, of va vessel 1j into which the less volatile liquefiedvgas from 1o 5 a lthe distilling'-chamber flows, .a counter-cur-` rent apparatus surroundingsaid vessel and having an outlet for the productsof evapora- `tion of the distilled liquid in said vessel, a

similar counter'-V current apparatusaround no an outlet forl for conveying 'c'ompressed gas from the counter-current apparatus through the liquid in the distilling-chamber and vessel to boil the 1'15"v 'l Asame vand condense orli'quefy the as, and means for conveying said liquee gasy in ispecificatio'nin the presence of two subscrib- I yig' witnesses. n already the. oxygencontent of the desired:

v `gas mixture. An overflowZ"L continuously a a a lcARL LIN'DE. i f Witnessesz' f f i 5W.,\BowMAN,

; CLARA PARKER.

gas' in 10o 

